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Considering inflation trends in India, Atul Kumar Goel, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of PNB on Tuesday said he expects a 20 to 25 basis points interest rate cut by March 2025.
Speaking to ANI, Goel said, "If conditions remain favourable, I expect an interest rate cut of 20 to 25 basis points within the next six months." In the latest monetary policy review meeting, the Reserve Bank of India kept its repo rate unchanged. The RBI kept the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent, in tenth straight meetings. The US Federal Reserve (Fed) recently lowered interest rates by 50 basis points, marking its first policy easing in four years. Inflation is currently contained, with the rate standing at 4.6 per cent in the first half of 2024-25, down from 5.5 per cent during the same period last year. Goel further mentioned that deposit rates are at their peak, and he does not anticipate any further increases. "I don't foresee an increase in deposit rates now," he said. Discussing loan growth, Goel noted that home loans have seen an 18 per cent increase, while car loans grew by 25 per cent, with strong demand for housing loans in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities. "For the next quarter, we expect home loan growth of 12 per cent," he concluded. Punjab National Bank today released financial results for the quarter and half year ended September. The lender's net profit increased year-on-year by 145 per cent to Rs 4,303 crore in the July-September 2024-25 as against Rs 1,756 crore in the same quarter of last fiscal year. Net Interest Income (NII) increased to Rs 10,517 crore in the quarter 2024-25 from Rs 9,923 crore in the same quarter showing an improvement of 5.99 per cent on a yearly basis. Savings deposits increased to Rs 488,635 crore registering a year-on-year growth of 3.7 per cent. Current deposits increased to Rs 68,104 crore registering a year-on-year growth of 1.6 per cent. CASA Deposits (Current account savings accounts) increased to Rs 556,739 crore recording a year-on-year growth of 3.4 per cent. (ANI)
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